RICHIE HAVENS
''SINGS BEATLES AND DYLAN''
1987
72:25
1/Here Comes the Sun
George Harrison/2:45
2/If Not for You
Bob Dylan/2:42
3/Lay Lady Lay
Bob Dylan/4:28
4/In My Life
John Lennon / Paul McCartney/5:14
5/Strawberry Fields Forever
John Lennon / Paul McCartney/3:50
6/All Along the Watchtower
Bob Dylan/3:19
7/Imagine
Ralph Blane / John Lennon / Hugh Martin / Paul McCartney/5:10
8/My Sweet Lord
George Harrison/2:59
9/It's All over Now, Baby Blue
Bob Dylan/4:26
10/Eleanor Rigby
John Lennon / Paul McCartney/3:08
11/Just Like a Woman
Bob Dylan/5:15
12/The Long and Winding Road
John Lennon / Paul McCartney/3:29
13/Let It Be
John Lennon / Paul McCartney/4:30
14/License to Kill
Bob Dylan/4:46
15/The Times They Are A-Changin'
Bob Dylan/4:53
16/Working Class Hero
John Lennon/4:56
17/Rocky Raccoon
John Lennon / Paul McCartney/4:12
18/With a Little Help from My Friends
John Lennon / Paul McCartney/2:23
Cliff Eberhardt /Guest Artist, Guitar (Electric)
Richie Havens /Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Percussion, Vocals
Michael Raye /Arranger, Drums, Keyboards, Synthesizer, Synthesizer Bass
Carol Steele /Congas, Percussion
Paul "Dino" Williams /Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic)
REVIEW
by Bruce Eder
Richie Havens is probably the only '60s icon who could get away with an album like this without apology. But for the presence of the electric keyboards, synth bass, and '80s-style drums, these performances by Havens could easily have appeared 18 years earlier. His performances of "Here Comes the Sun," "If Not for You," "Strawberry Fields Forever," and "Lay Lady Lay" all display a satisfying intimacy, and "Rocky Raccoon" is just plain fun, but his cover of "The Long and Winding Road" is probably the best version of this song ever done, with "Let It Be" not far behind. Overall, they're more sophisticated than some of Havens' earlier work, a mix of soul and folk traditions with an overlay of rock, that any longtime fan will appreciate.
BIOGRAPHY
by William Ruhlmann
BORN: JANUARY 21, 1941 IN BROOKLYN, NY
DIED: APRIL 22, 2013
Born in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, Richie Havens moved to Greenwich Village in 1961 in time to get in on the folk boom then taking place. Havens had a distinctive style as a folksinger, appearing in such clubs as the Cafe Wha? His guitar set to an opening tuning, he would strum it while barring chords with his thumb, using it essentially as percussion while singing rhythmically in a gruff voice for a mesmerizing effect. Havens was signed to Douglas Records in 1965 and recorded two albums that gained him a local following. In 1967, the Verve division of MGM Records formed a folk section (Verve Forecast) and signed Havens and other folk-based performers. The result was Havens' third album, Mixed Bag. It wasn't until 1968 and the Something Else Again album, however, that Havens began to hit the charts -- actually, Havens' fourth, third, and second albums charted that year, in that order. In 1969 came the double album Richard P. Havens 1983.
Havens' career benefited enormously from his appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969 and his subsequent featured role in the movie and album made from the concert in 1970. His first album after that exposure, Alarm Clock, made the Top 30 and produced a Top 20 single in "Here Comes the Sun." These recordings were Havens' commercial high watermark, but by this time he had become an international touring success. By the end of the '70s, he had abandoned recording and turned entirely to live work. Havens came back to records with a flurry of releases in 1987: a new album, Simple Things; an album of Bob Dylan and Beatles covers; and a compilation. In 1991, Havens signed his first major-label deal in 15 years when he moved to Sony Music and released Now. Nobody Left to Crown was issued by Verve Forecast in 2008.
''SINGS BEATLES AND DYLAN''
1987
72:25
1/Here Comes the Sun
George Harrison/2:45
2/If Not for You
Bob Dylan/2:42
3/Lay Lady Lay
Bob Dylan/4:28
4/In My Life
John Lennon / Paul McCartney/5:14
5/Strawberry Fields Forever
John Lennon / Paul McCartney/3:50
6/All Along the Watchtower
Bob Dylan/3:19
7/Imagine
Ralph Blane / John Lennon / Hugh Martin / Paul McCartney/5:10
8/My Sweet Lord
George Harrison/2:59
9/It's All over Now, Baby Blue
Bob Dylan/4:26
10/Eleanor Rigby
John Lennon / Paul McCartney/3:08
11/Just Like a Woman
Bob Dylan/5:15
12/The Long and Winding Road
John Lennon / Paul McCartney/3:29
13/Let It Be
John Lennon / Paul McCartney/4:30
14/License to Kill
Bob Dylan/4:46
15/The Times They Are A-Changin'
Bob Dylan/4:53
16/Working Class Hero
John Lennon/4:56
17/Rocky Raccoon
John Lennon / Paul McCartney/4:12
18/With a Little Help from My Friends
John Lennon / Paul McCartney/2:23
Cliff Eberhardt /Guest Artist, Guitar (Electric)
Richie Havens /Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Percussion, Vocals
Michael Raye /Arranger, Drums, Keyboards, Synthesizer, Synthesizer Bass
Carol Steele /Congas, Percussion
Paul "Dino" Williams /Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic)
REVIEW
by Bruce Eder
Richie Havens is probably the only '60s icon who could get away with an album like this without apology. But for the presence of the electric keyboards, synth bass, and '80s-style drums, these performances by Havens could easily have appeared 18 years earlier. His performances of "Here Comes the Sun," "If Not for You," "Strawberry Fields Forever," and "Lay Lady Lay" all display a satisfying intimacy, and "Rocky Raccoon" is just plain fun, but his cover of "The Long and Winding Road" is probably the best version of this song ever done, with "Let It Be" not far behind. Overall, they're more sophisticated than some of Havens' earlier work, a mix of soul and folk traditions with an overlay of rock, that any longtime fan will appreciate.
BIOGRAPHY
by William Ruhlmann
BORN: JANUARY 21, 1941 IN BROOKLYN, NY
DIED: APRIL 22, 2013
Born in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, Richie Havens moved to Greenwich Village in 1961 in time to get in on the folk boom then taking place. Havens had a distinctive style as a folksinger, appearing in such clubs as the Cafe Wha? His guitar set to an opening tuning, he would strum it while barring chords with his thumb, using it essentially as percussion while singing rhythmically in a gruff voice for a mesmerizing effect. Havens was signed to Douglas Records in 1965 and recorded two albums that gained him a local following. In 1967, the Verve division of MGM Records formed a folk section (Verve Forecast) and signed Havens and other folk-based performers. The result was Havens' third album, Mixed Bag. It wasn't until 1968 and the Something Else Again album, however, that Havens began to hit the charts -- actually, Havens' fourth, third, and second albums charted that year, in that order. In 1969 came the double album Richard P. Havens 1983.
Havens' career benefited enormously from his appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969 and his subsequent featured role in the movie and album made from the concert in 1970. His first album after that exposure, Alarm Clock, made the Top 30 and produced a Top 20 single in "Here Comes the Sun." These recordings were Havens' commercial high watermark, but by this time he had become an international touring success. By the end of the '70s, he had abandoned recording and turned entirely to live work. Havens came back to records with a flurry of releases in 1987: a new album, Simple Things; an album of Bob Dylan and Beatles covers; and a compilation. In 1991, Havens signed his first major-label deal in 15 years when he moved to Sony Music and released Now. Nobody Left to Crown was issued by Verve Forecast in 2008.
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